​Canadians Frank Gehry and Lorne Michaels are among the newest recipients of America’s highest civilian honour: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (FilmMagic)

The awards will be presented at the White House on Nov. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Gehry is a world-renowned architect whose best-known buildings include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague, and the Guggenheim Museum building in Bilbao, Spain. “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is not just our nation’s highest civilian honour — it’s a tribute to the idea that all of us, no matter where we come from, have the opportunity to change this country for the better,” Obama said in a statement. He was also behind the redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

The Presidential Medal of Freedom will be the latest honours for actor Robert De Niro, second-left, and singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, centre. The pair were earlier celebrated by U.S. Retired basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, seen at right with U.S. President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that Toronto-born Gehry and Michaels are on the star-studded list of 21 new honourees. Michaels is a 13-time Emmy winner best known for creating and producing the legendary sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. He has also produced The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers and the acclaimed sitcom 30 Rock. U.S.